Double Standards, Dehumanization, Complexity & A Way Forward

Deepening our ability to remain connected to humanity and increase our capcity for complexity as we navigate chaotic times.

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As conflict continues to unfold around our world I have found myself in a phase of stepping back further and further to get as big a picture of what’s going on as possible.

The motivation behind this is to be sure I’m examining my own bias’ or limited views, and to take a moment to collectively witness the emotions, perspectives and stories - lived and observed - of fellow humans around the world.

When the shit hits the fan, it’s the EASIEST time to get lost in emotion, certainty, and taking sides.

A mentor of mine years ago said to me: as you move toward mastery, bombs can go off around you and you’ll still have access to remaining grounded.

What he meant was not literal bombs, but that as things become frantic and chaotic in our world or lives, you can remain attuned to yourself enough to not get pulled in as you continually practice remaining centered.

I liken this to my days of performing under high pressure while playing competitive baseball. Those BIG moments in playoffs or championships require one to stay in the flow as much as the less tense moments at the beginning of the season.

With conflict building so deeply in our collective moment, fears, divisions, and emotions are high. How can we acknowledge this without being unnecessarily overtaken by it?

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You may be familiar with the iceberg model often used in systems thinking or personal transformation.

It essentially states that the tip of the iceberg, what we see, is not just based on our thinking or actions in that moment, but is driven by MANY factors hidden beneath the surface.

Here is a visual example:

The iceberg model was a driving factor in creating Collective Evolution well over a decade ago. I wanted to understand the totality of what was driving humanity’s current moment by looking all the way to our worldview and consciousness, and seeing how that shapes what occurs in our human experience.

The idea was that if we went THERE, we’d be able to define problems better and thus know how to bring about a solution - which of course would include a shifting of consciousness, getting out of dogmatic thinking, healing trauma etc.

The iceberg model has been a big part of my ideas around embodied sensemaking over the years as well. If we can focus our attention on our WHOLE being - body, mind, emotions etc - and the interplay that exists there, we can better sense what is driving ourselves and others, and better sense into future solutions that aren’t coming from the limited levels of mind that are a record of the past, often clouded by pain and emotion.

What embodied sensemaking does is it better prepares us to have the capacity to hold complexity without feeling overwhelmed, which can push us into black and white thinking.

With this in mind, I have compiled a series of videos I have watched to better make sense of this situation and feel into the various emotions, ideas, perspectives, and realities surrounding this situation.

I am not asking you to hear these videos and choose a side and jump to conclusions but to really connect with what people are saying and how they might feel within this conflict. For the purpose of this, ignore the headlines and titles of these videos. They are used to gain clicks, not necessarily to convey the spirit of the video.

In these videos there are many perspectives from differing layers, see what it feels like to stay connected to and remind yourself of each of these layers without losing sight of the other and choosing simplification.

Can they be held at the same time? This is a practice of increasing our capacity for complexity. It is built via awareness, intention, and consciousness.

➤ It is not simple to understand the political situation in Palestine and how that intersects with the conflict with Israel. I alluded to this in a previous article when I stated “Hamas does not represent Palestinians as a whole” because they literally do not. It’s also like saying corrupt oligarchy governments of the West represent their people. They often do not. Below is an interview with a Palestinian politician Hanan Ashwari who gives insight into how things are perceived from a greater umbrella of the Palestinian perspective.

➤ This is a video of an Israeli woman conveying what is being felt among citizens of Israel as it relates to fear, worry, anxiety and uncertainty. This is a way of connecting to humanity in this, beyond politics. I imagine the same can be said for some Palestinians. This reminds us to be careful not to dehumanize or lose connection to humans during this. It’s so easy to look at the politicians in a country and feel they represent real people, but this reminds us they often do not.

➤ Below is a discussion around the debate of collective punishment with an Israeli politician. It includes discussion around who is supporting these acts and why we are having a hard time coming to an agreement about the idea of ‘justification’ and ‘defending oneself.’ What does that mean? What does that truly look like? Finally, it gets into a discussion around racism and double standards around ethnic cleansing of regions.

➤ The video below is of Israeli Ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely discussing the atrocities of this current conflict and also shares her feelings that Israel must eradicate all evil. She does not believe there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza right now. This video conveys much emotion that can be reflective of SOME people within Israel's government and citizenry. I’ve seen people calling her perspective disgusting, and perhaps that is valid for some, but the pain she is feeling colors her words and perspective. What do we gain by witnessing her pain vs. judging her words? Is it not a reflection of why conflict carries on? Does it ask us to stop and think longer before reacting with more violence?

➤ The video below indicates why a former US State Department official resigned during this conflict and how little balanced discussion there is around this conflict within Western governments. He makes the point that all actions up to this point in this long conflict have not led to peace. He asks why are we doing the same thing over and over. Is this getting us to where we need to be?

➤ The video below is a breakdown of how we tend to look at sides of a conflict and decide who is more or less in the right, or who is the terrorist, and how this can then lead to double standards of this framing depending on the situation. It especially points to looking at conflicts in a narrow timeframe and not the full timeline of events. I felt it was a meaningful way of expanding our perspective to consider the bigger picture.

➤ An older clip of Noam Chomsky and a CBS journalist going back and forth to work out the nature of this conflict, the legalities, and the responses from other countries going back multiple decades. It appears there have been many attempts to avoid finding peace and a solution here.

I don’t want to overwhelm beyond this. There is plenty more that can be discussed and there are certainly more perspectives to include, it’s impossible to include everything.

We’d love to hear from you on this topic in the comments below. Also, feel free to share this article with friends and family to help spread a different approach to observing global conflicts.